Mama Needs A Moment

Our lives change in a myriad of ways once we become a mother, some positive and others less so. From experiences with “mom brain” or brain fog to overwhelming stress and anxiety, our brain and body can become taxed in a whole new way. In today’s episode we hear from experts on so-called “mom brain”, and also explore aging, changes in hormones, and the effects our stage of life can have on our overall health. We dive into how these issues impact a mother as well as her children and hear from our experts on the best ways to navigate these challenges.

The first HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2022 featured the following HER Expert panelists:

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

HER Health Collective

HER Circle - A mom community created by HER Health Collective

National Outdoor Leadership School

Kerry's Reading: Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Kind, driven, and passionate are adjectives that describe Chasta Hamilton. She is also an entrepreneur, author, speaker, educator and mom, who believes in using her experiences to empower and inspire others to reach their fullest potential. Chasta is ambitious. She’s the owner of a non-profit called Girls Geared for Greatness and also owns two dance studios called Stage Door Dance in Raleigh, NC. Recently, she authored her first book called Trash the Trophies where Chasta discusses the competitive dance industry with its biased scoring, skimpy costumes, toxic rivalries, no regulation and standardization. A life in the performing arts has equipt Chasta with the ability to see all of its powerful benefits as well as flaws and applies the lessons to guide others toward success.

In this episode you will hear us discuss:

HER Health Collective

HER Circle

Today we got to sit down with Iris Chen, of the wildly popular website and social media account known as “Untigering.” Iris also recently authored a fantastic book by the same name. Iris is an American Born Chinese who ended up raising kids who are Chinese born Americans. She considers herself a deconstructing tiger mother who is doing her best to become a gentle parent. As she learned to honor her children’s individuality and autonomy, she felt it no longer made sense to subject them to a system that wouldn’t do the same. Iris began to trust in her children’s innate ability and motivation to learn, and found she no longer believed in a compulsory education that forced children to learn according to arbitrary adult standards. Iris practices unschooling with her children and has a second book by that name coming out soon.

Today’s discussion covers these topics:

Untigering: Adventures of a Deconstructing Tiger Mother

Untigering Book - Untigering: Peaceful Parenting for the Deconstructing Tiger Parent

Iris is reading: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Iris is watching: The After Party, Severance

HER Health Collective

HER Circle

Life is a series of events that challenge us. For Kim Wierzel, some of the biggest challenges she faced over the past 7-8 years have been the guidepost to her to making this year’s goal about enjoying the life that she's built and finding pleasure in the journey. While listening to this episode, you will hear Kim discuss the tragic loss of her husband of 20 years and how she helped both herself and her two young children through the grief. Kim talks about how she went from doing very little movement to becoming a fitness studio owner of two Total Row locations, all while working a day job. She also very openly shares the process of supporting her transgenered child and finding a loving connection with another person after loss.

A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper

Total Row Raleigh

Comfort Zone Camp

Warrior Tech

HER Health Collective 

HER Circle (A mom community created by HER Health Collective)

Today we have the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Maria Paredes. Dr. Paredes has nearly 20 years of experience in the mental health field. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor & Supervisor and a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist-Supervisor that uses an eclectic approach when working with her clients. Dr. Paredes is trained in brainspotting and EMDR and we had the pleasure of learning a bit more about these treatment protocols.

Today’s discussion covers these topics:

Find Dr. Maria Paredes:

Three Birds Counseling and Clinical Supervision

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A Promised Land by Barak Obama

The Mandalorian on Disney+

HER Health Collective

What do wine dinners, paint pours, candle making and charcuterie design have in common? Lauren Stevens. Lauren is the founder and owner of the creative workshop experiences of Joy Worthy Co. She built her business on the goal of having each guest experience a greater sense of self worth, joy and inspiration. Lauren is fun, easygoing and insightful. She openly shares her journey to bringing her business to life, her objective for each class she hosts, the struggles of being a single parent and business owner, and facing the paralyzing effect of fear.

Discussion highlights included:

Lauren mentions:

- Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman

- You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

- We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere: 9 Principles to Live By by Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel

- Joy Worthy Co.

HER Health Collective

Beyond the Behaviors (Course)

Mama Needs A Moment Podcast - 2021 WRAL Voters' Choice Award Winner!

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Paula Kettula, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working with children and families for over 20 years.

Paula is the creator and the host of a massively successful online parenting summit called “Becoming a Peaceful Parent” and has developed a unique approach to parenting based on a powerful transformational leadership framework which she is using to empower parents to become conscious, confident, and inspiring parents so they can create authentic, connected, and loving relationships with their children.

Paula holds a master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University. She also has a diploma in Montessori education from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), is a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) and is trained in EMDR, Sandplay Therapy, Play Therapy and Transformational Leadership.

Our discussion today included:

The pressure society puts on parents Being attuned to your kids needs The power of a morning ritual How learning to play an instrument can benefit the brain The need for children to have independence and how this differs in other countries Parenting as a leadership role and using power rather than force to parent our children Battling the power struggles that often emerge with children Why our kids can be so triggering and the importance of parents healing their own traumas and wounds The importance of taking responsibility for our actions as a leader and parent

Paula's Website and Social Channels:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/transformationalparent

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/transformationalparent

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transformational_parent/

Dr. Joni Johnson/Behind the Behaviors Course

HER Health Collective

We are putting a bow on 2021 as both the year and Season 1 comes to a close. We are sharing all the “knows,” including answering our own Get To Know You Questions that we ask each guest in an effort for you to know us better, and sharing our personal growth (what we grew to know more) in regard to the four initiatives that we aim to draw attention to each year. The initiatives that we focus on include:

In this episode, we get vulnerable about some of our personal struggles and where we hope to continue striving for self development. Our desire is that you come away from this episode with some “me too” moments, having things to ponder, as well as excitement for our upcoming Season 2!

Crissy Mentioned:

Such a Fun Age - Riley Reid

Atlas of the Heart - Brene Brown

Cindi Mentioned:

The Choice - Dr. Edith Eger

The Gift - Dr. Edith Eger

Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankel

The Alice Network - Kate Quinn

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Jess Myhre, co-host of Only You: A One and Done podcast. Together with her husband Pierce, Jess works hard to try to bring humor, understanding and a deep well of empathy to the topic of being one and done. Jess shares a lot about her journey and how they made the decision to be one and done, she attacks the stigma of raising an only child and explores how solid parenting is the best way to ensure a happy childhood for our kids.

This is such an important episode for everyone to listen to with so many valuable insights, but is an especially important episode if you are considering being a one and done family, or have a one and done family in your life.​

Summary:

Jess is watching: Gilmore Girls

Jess is listening to: The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael

HER Health Collective

Our quarterly Roundtables provide an opportunity for us to bring together our Expert Panelists. Our panelists are from a variety of industries who all have varying expertise and opinions. Together, they discuss important issues that are relevant to mothers in our community. It’s the perfect way to initiate collaboration, create partnerships and learn different viewpoints all with the goal of bringing attention to maternal health. In our final Roundtable of 2021, the panelists are exposing the harmful expectations of motherhood and confronting the unrealistic and unachievable ideals. Our goal through this discussion is to help moms recognize and manage the expectations. The experts strive to help moms to establish in advance what is realistic so disappointment is minimized and moms can feel more secure in their abilities.

Summary:

Featured Panelists:

HER Health Collective